InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Yorkshire Tea."

Troy Bolton (t_bolton) wrote in omega_reality,
@ 2012-03-14 23:08:00

Entry tags:

*complete, 2012 03, character: alexis castle, character: nell jones, character: sean hanna, character: tim riggins, character: troy bolton

RP: Watching Basketball
Who: Troy, Sean, Nell, Alexis, Tim
Where: Troy and Nell's
When: dinner March 14, 2012
Summary: Troy is watching Cal being humiliated by USF

He had spoken to Sam, convinced him to let him get out of training half an hour later after the promise to make it up with a full hour of one-on-one with him on Saturday. Troy knew that he'd pay the price, but this was Cal and it was probably the last game he would have ever played in his college career, or maybe the second to last. The game should be close.

Or it would have been if Cal were playing.

Troy watched as USF crashed Cal. He sat there, getting quieter and quieter, tension building inside him as he watched his team sleep through the game and displaying none of the traits they were known for, none of the finesse that the Bears were known for, and USF was playing brilliantly. With six minutes left to the end, the score was 59 to 36, nothing close about that. What was worse, Cal showed no sign of getting better, with only Kamp playing. There was none of the spirit Troy knew so well, none of the collegiate spirit, none of the fire. Then another missed shot and Troy wanted to throw something at the TV, and then the ball slipped from his hands and

Crash!

He watched wide eyes as the ball hit the TV, smashing the glass and the short circuit that came with it, part of the house going dark with it. He looked at Nell. "Don't kill me; I didn't do that. Well, I did, but I didn't throw the ball; I swear. I might want to, but I didn't."

(Post a new comment)

omega_tim
2012-03-15 03:32 am UTC (link)

Tim had been looking forward to tonight's game. He had caught the Cal fever from Troy and after Cal went on even after losing the Pac-12 tournament, it was even more exciting. But there was nothing exciting about this game. He knew what it was like to lose - both as a player and a fan - and he couldn't even laugh at Troy's broken heart. So he had sat there with Alexis in his lap and watched the game.

"Nice job, Bolton," Tim snickered, glad it wasn't his TV.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

t_bolton
2012-03-15 03:36 am UTC (link)

Troy looked at Tim. "I told you that I didn't do it, dickhead," he snapped, before sighing. "Sorry."

"Nell, I swear, I didn't do it. I was thinking it, so yes, I guess I did do it, but I didn't throw the ball. It just went there," he said. "Please believe me. More importantly, please don't kill me. There should be some insurance coverage when freaky things happen, and with all the powers in this room, freaky things happen all the time."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

alexis_castle
2012-03-15 03:42 am UTC (link)

Alexis was kissing Tim's neck, or pretending to, so she could hide while laughing. It wasn't until she got it under control, before she pulled back.

"Before she kills you, why don't we see if we can fix the short circuit. The circuit breaker probably went off. If not, we need to find a fuse," she said, getting off Tim's lap. "We need to do it quick unless you want to throw out what's in your fridge, although we can probably take stuff. I think I saw it in the laundry area."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	omega_tim 2012-03-15 04:01 am UTC (link)
	Tim nodded at Troy acknowledging the apology and trying to hide his snicker. "Fuse box, right," he said following Alexis and wrapping his arm around her as they walked. He whispered playfully into her ear. "It's a shame it didn't trip all the circuits. Being in darkness is fun." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

alexis_castle
2012-03-15 03:15 pm UTC (link)

Alexis bit her lips trying not to laugh, because Troy might misinterpret. "We have someone who can channel electricity. It might not work." She turned to look at him. "Let's just fix this and then we can go home and we can play in the dark all you want," she said with a mischievous smile on her face.

She reached the laundry area and opened the box. "We used to do it all the times. You put toaster oven, microwave and espresso machine on at the same time and it tends to happen." She turned the switch back on. "There, no fuse needed. Let's see what's going on with Troy and then we can go."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	omega_tim 2012-03-15 11:29 pm UTC (link)
	"I would hope you would want to play in the dark too," he replied sarcastically and squeezed her tight. "That smile of yours turns me on." Tim laughed, "I've flipped many circuit breaker switches in my time. The house in Dillon wasn't known for its excellent electrical wiring." He followed her back to the room and was curious to see what else Troy could do. (Reply to this) (Parent)

sean_hanna
2012-03-15 03:27 pm UTC (link)

"I'm not going to kill you." Nell went straight for the television with a shake of her shoulders that told Sean she was holding back a giggle. The screen was toast, but if she could fix the wiring, he could handle the juice, and then it was just a matter of replacing the glass, which any local repair guy could do for relatively cheap. "Maim? Maybe. No, don't worry about it, Troy. Not the first time one of us has taken out the electronics. Probably won't be the last."

"Yell if you need a hand," Sean told the others as they went for the fuse box. "First thing G taught me when my power came through was how to fix things when I overloaded the circuits...or fried them totally. Come here." He reached for Troy's arm, urging him to sit back on the couch. "Nell's right. You're in good company for this. And you only broke the television. Not only did I basically make ours explode during an argument with Savannah, I blew the fuses for the entire apartment and shattered every light bulb in the place. I was just lucky I managed to only damage our place and not the Director's next door."

"And I wiped my entire hard drive in my sleep," Nell interjected with a glance over her shoulder at them. "Freaked me out. I thought someone had broken the encryptions and gotten in remotely. Made Eric spend a day going over it with me. It wasn't until I almost stabbed myself trying to reach my own knife I realized what had happened."

"John wouldn't let her near his stuff for a month until she figured out how to rein it in and stop interfering with the electromagnetic fields around pretty much everything near her."

(Reply to this) (Thread)

t_bolton
2012-03-15 04:03 pm UTC (link)

Troy sat down, leaning against Sean, but he was still feeling jittery. "You two sound like complete nerds. I hope you know and if you don't, I just told you."

He looked at Nell, but what she was doing barely registered. "I can't believe we were losing so badly. I can't believe I'm not watching the end even if they sucked. How could they play so badly?" he asked to no one, while shaking his head.

He sighed. "So what did I do? Because I have no clue. I was thinking about throwing the ball, but I didn't. It just moved away from my hands. The weird thing is that it followed the same projectors and velocity I was picturing." Electricity and circuits weren't his thing but he knew about balls and throws.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

nell_jones
2012-03-15 05:45 pm UTC (link)

"We may be nerds, but you love us anyway," Nell replied with a chuckle, still sorting out what damage was done that she could fix, either manually or with her power. The insides of televisions these days weren't that different from computer monitors and hardware hadn't ever been a problem for her before she turned into a mini-Magneto. "And I think I can handle most of this. It's just the screen that'll need replacing by a professional."

Sean had his arm around Troy as he grew morose over the game and Nell smiled a little. Sean would be better for him today than the rest of them could be. He'd been there with his concert and graduation, stuck here instead of there. Nell had just jumped into work and still hadn't really accepted the possibility she'd never see her family again. It was a classified assignment.

"Offhand?" She got up to go back into the kitchen and rummage around for the basic toolkit she kept in a drawer there. "Making something move with just a thought," she continued as she came back, "sounds a lot like telekinesis to me. I mean, we can't be sure. But, that's what it sounds like."

"Only way to know for sure," Sean added, "would be if you were up to seeing if you could do it again."

"Something less violent, maybe." Nell turned to wink over her shoulder at him. "Maybe see if you can hand me those pliers without getting up?" She pointed to the toolbox she'd set on the table.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

t_bolton
2012-03-15 06:05 pm UTC (link)

Troy chuckled. "I guess I do if I put up with your constant mumbling about things that no normal person should know." He nodded. "Good, although I still say that they should have some kind of insurance for freaky powers, especially considering the people in this house. The only one not lethal is Alexis." At least at first glance, because Troy would think that she could do plenty of damage once invisible.

He looked at Sean when he felt the arm around him, and smiled at him, even if he was still not happy about the game. Troy looked back at Nell, but he rested his head against Sean's while his hand went to Sean's thigh. He couldn't help but grin when she went on. "So you're saying that I have the power of a chick. I guess it's okay. I mean she is the Dark Phoenix. She might have been a woman, but she kicked major ass. It fits though since we know you have more balls than anyone else."

Troy nodded. "All right, pliers." He looked at them just as the light came back on and picture them moving to the air and setting down on Nell's hand. The landing wasn't perfect, but there was no doubt that he was the one doing it. "Oh man, I will never have to get up for beer again," he said with a grin.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sean_hanna
2012-03-15 06:51 pm UTC (link)

"Normal is so over-rated," Nell teased, waving her hand before returning to whatever she was doing in there with the wires and conductors and transmitters and whatever else she was mucking about with in the television.

"I don't think I'd count Alexis as not lethal," Sean said with a chuckle. "Try being the one using up all the hot water when she wants into the bathroom in the morning." That chuckle turned into a laugh soon after. "Now who sounds like a nerd. So we're all clear here, I know the movies. So, I'm hoping you're talking X-Men and it's some reference to the hot chick who got buried under the lake because otherwise I'm just going to go with Troy gets a chick power and tease him forever over it."

He shut up while Troy tried with the pliers, but found himself laughing again at Troy's reaction to proof of his power. "Or anything else you usually ask one of the girls to get for you," he teased.

"One of these days," came Nell's muffled voice where she was stuck headfirst into the television again, "we really need to see what happens when we all combine our powers on something. I mean, Sean's power and my power compliment each other already, two halves of one basic force coin. But, when you think about it, the five powers in this house at the moment could do an awful lot working in tandem. Derek was afraid of what I could do on my own. The five of us together could probably level a command post."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

t_bolton
2012-03-15 07:03 pm UTC (link)

Troy laughed, feeling slightly better between Nell and Sean's jokes. "It's a good thing that we have two bathrooms or she'd hunt you in there. Does she flush the toilet while you're shower?" He could see her doing just that.

He snorted. "Jean Grey, the Dark Phoenix, comes back from the dead like a million times, and she can move any object including herself, which makes her able to float and fly. She can also make people float or fly or slam against things. God, maybe this finally means that I don't have to worry about sucking so much with a gun." He didn't mind training, same with the hand-to-hand combat, but shooting was not something that came naturally. If he had to waste so much time aiming and getting ready, he'd be dead.

Troy looked at Sean and grinned. "Or ask you. You're nice, too, and you love me," he said, blowing a kiss.

He turned to Nell even though she wasn't looking. "Is there beer in your plan? Because it sounds a lot more interesting than destroying posts of any kind." He looked at the computer. "And when you're done, my very lovely room mate, can you check the final score? I'd do it myself, but I'm afraid of crying."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sean_hanna
2012-03-15 11:10 pm UTC (link)

"You'd think she'd have more sympathy. New York girl in the desert with these insane temperature shifts." Sean shuddered, then looked at Troy. "You were born in this part of the country, or right next door. How do you stand it? It's thirty degrees at night. In March!"

Listening to Troy's description of the character, he nodded. "So...the hot chick who gets buried a the lake." As Nell's laugh floated out from the frame of the television, Sean grinned. But, he was thinking about Troy's power and training. "Now you can do like Nell and stab someone with a knife without ever touching them. As long as G's not afraid you'll end up dead because there's some reason you can't use your power and you can't fire the gun if you have to, you're probably good to ease up worrying about it. God knows I did. Dad wanted me to learn to shoot. I did. Both handguns and rifles for his sake. But, I'm far more likely to fry someone than shoot them."

"I guess I never really thought about it here. I was qualified to carry at home. So, it was just normal here."

"Nell, if you could carry a tune, I'd record you with your head in the television. You're getting some great reverb off that stuff."

Nell's laugh was the only response from that quarter.

"I do, do I?" Arching an eyebrow, he leaned over to steal a real kiss instead of an airborne one. After all, it was only Nell, Alexis, and Tim there. Considering Nell was Troy's roommate, who saw them walking out of his room in the morning, and Alexis was his roommate, who saw him coming home in time to change and shower for PFT, it wasn't like they didn't know. "I guess I'll give you that one since I'm such a nice guy."

Nell pulled her head out of the television and sat cross-legged next to it while she twisted some wire in her hand. "We can raid the command post to steal their beer," she informed them without looking up. "Give me five more minutes and I'll look. But, you know, just because this Cal team is losing, doesn't mean the guys you actually played with are. Your real team is probably celebrating as we speak."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

t_bolton
2012-03-16 12:20 am UTC (link)

Troy shrugged. "I don't know. You get used to it, and you dress in layers, cover up at night, use it as an excuse to stay home and snuggle up. It's perfect for feeling up the girls when you're young," he said, chuckling. "It gets cold, you want to keep them warm. I'm sure that's how it always starts."

He snorted. "Yes, fine, the chick at the lake. My explanation was much more powerful." Troy shook his head. "Nah, you still need aim. Much easier to get them high enough and drop them upside down, and bang them against something, and much cooler too. You can hear the crunch of bones, the weird angles as you break things." He probably wouldn't do it, but it still sounded cooler than a knife. "And I can learn to fly and get beer. I think we are all forgetting that important point. Hell, I can get an entire keg without moving. Ladies and gentlemen, this power is awesome."

Troy's eyes went from Nell, to Alexis and Tim, and then back to Sean, still trying to figure out what Sean was saying. He'd been joking and the proper response was another joke, not a kiss like that. "You love me because you're a nice guy? You must love a lot of people."

Leave it to Nell to keep things grounded. "Sure, let's go attack military bases to get their beer." He sighed. "I know, Nell, but it's weird. I know some of these guys, not all, but Kamp, I've been playing with him. Crabbe, too. These are people I trained with. It's hard to be detached. They are my school, my team, regardless of the dimension."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sean_hanna
2012-03-16 01:33 pm UTC (link)

"Right, feeling up the girls." Sean laughed, shaking his head with a grin. "I guess there aren't many options if most of the Southwest is as empty as this area." Truth was, he was starting to regret a little the time he had spent not wanting to go into the city while at the base. The novelty of the countryside was wearing off.

"Or you can simply pull all their bones and organs out of their body," Nell put in helpfully and Sean cringed.

"Yuck. The concept of quick and clean never entered either of your brains, did it?"

"Sure," Nell shrugged. "But, we're talking about cool, not real. There's no time for cool in a real fight."

"Right, moving on. Let's focus on the flying and beer part, yeah?"

Of all the people to react weird to a light little kiss, Sean hadn't counted on it being Troy. But, there was something off in the glance and the question. Shaking his head, Sean set them back firmly in the joking and teasing territory. "Nah, because I'm a nice guy I just won't argue about whether or not I love you enough for you to ask."

Sean's arm was still around Troy, though, and he squeezed gently, silent comfort, as talk came back around to the Cal team.

"Yeah, I get it, I think. It just happened in the reverse for me, first I lost the team I was just starting to fit in with and then I came here," Nell was saying.

"I get it," Sean added softly. "First few months we was here, Jen was pushing for her freedom and Dad had to coax me to leave the base. I knew as soon as I set foot in the city, though, I'd want to head for Lincoln Center or Blue Note, anywhere the Jazz Students play. In the back of my mind, I was always thinking I'd be able to walk in and join a session. That the question would be 'Sean, where ya been, man?' and not 'Who the hell are you?'" He squeezed Troy gently again. "It was hard enough knowing I missed the concert where I was supposed to unveil the song I wrote for Jen. If I'd had to watch it on television like you just did...?" Sean shook his head. He couldn't have done it. He'd have lost it, plain and simple.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

t_bolton
2012-03-16 02:25 pm UTC (link)

"Albuquerque isn't quite this isolated, and you have to consider that we're stuck in a ranch with less than thirty people. At home, you have your friends, your hang-out places, but yeah, everyone knows everyone within your little group or social sphere. My mom is Jewish and we go to the Congregation Albert, which is the one reform congregation, and everyone knows everyone's business, whether you're 10 or a 100."

Alexis sat down on Tim's lap as she jumped into the conversation. "And in the city, you can live all of your life without meeting people. I was going to the Blue Note when I cross over. We were celebrating my going away to Stanford, and Dylan was playing there." She looked at Sean, smiling, before looking at Troy again. "Dylan was my violin instructor, a Juilliard student in Sean's year; they know each other. Under different circumstances, both Sean and I could have been there and never met. I love that, so big, so full of life."

"That's just weird," Troy said, with a snort. "I knew people. If I didn't know they were a different age group or losers that I didn't want to know, but under different circumstances, I wouldn't have the power to get beer without moving. I also might not have met all of you, so I guess it's a trade off, even if I'm listening to a woman discussing pulling bones out of a person's body. Now that's not cool. It's messy and bloody. You're evil, Nell."

Troy squeezed Sean's thigh in thanks. "What can I tell you? I'm a masochist. I couldn't miss the game."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

nell_jones
2012-03-16 05:39 pm UTC (link)

Nell laughed, shooting a grin in the boys' direction, as she turned to put the wire she'd been playing with back into the television. "Yeah, it's pretty gross. But, it got your mind off the game for a minute."

"I think I liked the fact there were always people around, even if I didn't know them. D.C. was like that, too, in some ways. Of course," Sean said, laughing, "I was odd man out in some ways, too. I knew the guys in the neighborhood, grew up with them. But, I went to Ellington. They went to the local school. I put in so much practice time, even on weekends, I really only heard about them from Moms or the occasional headline when someone got shot or arrested."

"Right, all fixed. Just need to get the screen replaced this weekend. You'll have to watch the games at Sean and Alexis' until then." Nell pulled her head out of the television and shut the toolbox. She reached for the computer as she kept talking. "Troy's right, though. We all left something behind and none of us asked to be here. But, we're pretty lucky in how we've ended up together.' She paused. "Although, you might not think so once you know the final score. You sure you want to hear it?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

t_bolton
2012-03-16 05:50 pm UTC (link)

"You're a horrible, evil woman," Troy said, laughing. "I bet all of your friends were guys when you were little, playing with worms and other disgusting things."

Alexis snorted. "Then she definitely didn't grow up in New York, because we can't find worms in the city. I grew up in Soho and went to school to the Upper East Side, and you're right, Sean. It's the beauty of the city, being there and always having people, lights, noises."

Troy rolled his eyes. "And you never got to play in the dirty. Shame on you," he said, chuckling, before looking at Nell. "You might as well. It's not like I expect them to make it up in six minutes."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

nell_jones
2012-03-16 06:18 pm UTC (link)

"Friends?" Nell quirked an eyebrow at Troy, then grinned. "I had three older brothers and I grew up in a house that, while a close enough drive to Hartford, literally had woods for a backyard. All I had to do was climb over the deck railing and it was 'Hello, Karen Alywood' minus space aliens and Bette Davis. I had dirt, trees, electronics, computers, piano lessons, books, UConn girls basketball on Saturdays, and ladies' tea with the DAR on Sundays."

Meeting Troy's look over the top of the laptop screen, she nodded. "If you're sure. Final score: USF 65, Cal Bears 54." Closing the computer, she picked up the toolbox and stood up. "And on that note, I think our new Dark Phoenix deserves some ice cream and cookies. Anyone else who wants some while I'm in the kitchen, speak now or forever hold your peace."

"Until she offers tomorrow night."

(Reply to this) (Parent)